Camp Good Days provides a free week of fun and activities - like swimming at the beachfront, arts and crafts in one of the many neon sheds, eating contests during meals, s'moreito crafting (it's a s'more burrito) and the popular last night dance in the pavilion - for children and adults impacted by cancer, sickle cell anemia or violence. Each week the camp hosts different campers from kids currently going through cancer treatments to those who lost a loved one to the disease.

Mikayla Cleary-Hammarstedt, a Dance Marathon emcee who volunteered as a camp counselor last summer, said she was excited to play with the kids, who came to Dance Marathon later in the day.

"It's really amazing that the camp is helping the families who are already going through so much," Cleary-Hammarstedt said. "My favorite part of the camp is the chapel service on the first day, where campers write the name of their loved one on a rock and toss it into a pile, so they can have fun the rest of the week."

Dance Marathon is one of Camp Good Day's biggest fundraisers, but it's also an event students look forward to each year.

"I really like Dance Marathon," said Mackenzie Kingsley, president of the Fayetteville-Manlius High School student council. "It speaks volumes of the school and how we value community service. The entire school gets involved and 900 plus kids come to the gym. It's exciting."

Student council members and volunteers spent seven months organizing this year's event, resulting in a day of games, prizes, live band performances and dancing.
Emcees acted as the face of the event, getting students pumped for the marathon and changing costumes throughout the day from pajama wear to superhero gear.

"We get involved with the underclassmen in the school," said Sophia Roberts, a Dance Marathon emcee. "We're like the mascots of the event."

And adults got involved too. This year 51 parents and adults chaperoned the event.

Jake Hess, the Fayetteville-Manlius High School student council advisor, said Dance Marathon is open to the entire student body, but students must raise a minimum of $50 to come. Prizes were given to the top fundraisers to encourage fundraising.

"It's an amazing day," Hess said. "We get here at 8 a.m., and we're here until 1 a.m. It's a long day.

The event takes place in two gyms. One was completely dark except for the brightly swirling strobe lights, where a DJ dropped a beat for dancers. Participants didn't dance all day, but there was always someone dancing in the gym to keep the marathon going.

Banners, decorations, arrows and balloons guided you to the carnival gym, where students grabbed some popcorn or cotton candy, played a quick round of Kan Jam or raced their friends in the blow-up obstacle course.

After all that dancing, students refueled with some free snacks in the hallway, like doughnuts, bagels and Cheez-its.

In addition to student fundraising, the high school also raised money for the camp selling Dance Marathon 2014 pinnies, sweatbands and tank tops.

"It's nice seeing the student body get involved in something that is bigger than just us," Roberts said. "We're usually not able to be all at one event, so it's a bonding experience."